3) Re. US Navy Wargames: Below is a letter and link that should be shared widely, with friends, family, media, MLAs and MPs. I would hope that someone like Elizabeth May would help spread the word about this planned expansion of US Naval activity and the prolonged testing of EMR technology over our area.

Letters:

From: X
Date: December 4, 2016
To: Sharon Noble

Subject: A visit from the Grinch

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It’s full-court press time for western Washington and southwestern Vancouver Island and all the islands in between. The Navy is coming to 5 communities to talk about the new Growler Jet Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS.) They are not, however, extending this courtesy to Canada, despite subjecting them to significant jet noise. Attached are some talking points and questions about the DEIS that are like Cliff’s Notes for some of the major public concerns. This DEIS is starkly alarming on so many levels.

Thank you to folks on Whidbey Island, the San Juan Islands, and the Olympic Peninsula for contributing their knowledge to these Talking Points and Questions.

If you are going to be affected by the Navy’s enormous expansion of Growler jet noise, pollution and increased risk of jet crashes in this region, please consider attending one of this week’s public meetings – actually they’re “open houses” hosted by the Navy. They’re in Port Townsend, Oak Harbor, Lopez Island, Anacortes and Coupevlle, on December 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9; locations and times are listed at the bottom of this email. Port Townsend’s is tomorrow, Monday Dec 5, at Fort Worden from 3-6.

Understand that while public comments will be accepted in writing at these meetings, they are not your only chance to comment; the Navy’s comment period on the Growler EIS is open until January 25 for mailed-in and electronic comments, and the Navy’s Public Involvement page is here:http://whidbeyeis.com/PublicInvolvement.aspx.

An “open house” can be used by the government as a substitute for a public meeting, and open houses tend to work to the Navy’s advantage; splitting people into small groups means you miss most of the information exchange except what’s immediately in front of you. Instead of a presentation by one knowledgeable person with a public Q&A to follow, you get what looks more like an exhibit hall at a trade show, with loads of contractors far too often telling you they don’t know the answer to your question, or sending you elsewhere to ask it (wasting your time) or possibly saying something that is inaccurate – all of that has been my experience. An open house when public demand is for a more substantive discussion amounts to a stonewalling tactic. A member of the Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve says, “I have found that writing questions in advance and recording answers is helpful. In fact, I recorded conversations with my phone. I simply stated to the Navy or contract person that I’d like to record the conversation so I could keep track of all the information i was getting. “That’s ok with you, isn’t it?” They always said yes and made a special effort to be correct. I got their names as well. You could [potentially] get information that could catch someone misrepresenting the facts, that could be useful in litigation.”

Another tactic to try if you find you’re not getting answers, is to gather a larger group and direct a question at one of the senior people, in a voice that can be heard by your group (make sure they know what you’re going to do before you do that). The most senior person with the expert knowledge on this EIS will be John Mosher, the Navy’s main NEPA process representative, who also supervises the team that wrote the EIS, so if he says he doesn’t know the answers, he’d probably be bluffing. The other senior person likely to be there will be Navy senior media relations officer Ted Brown, from the Navy’s Norfolk, VA offices, who is very knowledgeable but can be gruff and dismissive (he was to me once we got into details,) and Whidbey-based public affairs officer Mike Welding. There will be pilots and trainers in jumpsuits there too, but mostly contractors. So before you go down the road with questions, ask: are you a contractor, and what is your area of expertise? Can you speak knowledgeably about (subject)?

It’s very important to remain polite but to also give the Navy a firm idea of how serious the public’s concerns are about this unprecedented expansion. We can do that via sheer numbers of people showing up, and via our comments. If you haven’t read the West Coast Action Alliance’s latest post on the Navy’s EIS and on the concurrent Forest Service decision to grant that permit for electronic warfare, you’ll get more background there on what’s happening right now:http://westcoastactionalliance.org/get-ready-to-rumble-navy-jet-noise-to-dramatically-increase

Thanks again for your interest, dedication, and citizenship. This has been a bruising and exhausting autumn in every possible way, but there’s no rest for the weary until we can get through this confusing and difficult time – together.

Best,
X

= = =

From the Navy: “The Navy is holding five open house public meetings to provide members of the public with the opportunity to ask questions and submit comments on the Draft EIS. Each of the public meetings will be informal and consist of information and comment stations staffed by Navy representatives. Members of the public may arrive at the open house public meetings anytime during the hours listed below:”